Body of plane stowaway found on London rooftop

London, (IANS) British authorities have been investigating the case of a man found dead on the roof of a shop in Richmond, west London, after he supposedly fell from a plane from South Africa, according to police.

The British Airways flight from Johannesburg was preparing to land at London’s Heathrow Airport after a 13,000-km flight, police said on Friday.

Authorities believed that the body of the man, found dead on a roof of a building Wednesday, was a stowaway in the undercarriage of the aircraft, Efe news agency reported.

Scotland Yard Police called the death “inexplicable”, noting that the investigators were trying to identify the deceased.

Another male, between 25 and 30 years of age, was found unconscious at Heathrow Airport and was hospitalised in serious condition, according to the same officials.

This is not the first such case that has happened in London, as migrants have tried to reach Britain by hiding in the landing gear of aircraft, where there are low levels of oxygen and sub-zero temperatures once the aircraft takes off.

A British Airways spokesperson said the authorities of Britain and Johannesburg were working together to clarify the circumstances of the strange and tragic event.